A new crowdsourced map projects asks people to draw their city limits from memory.
Tanvi Misra shares news of the new mapping project by Alasdair Rae, an urban scholar at the University of Sheffield, U.K., who is crowdsourcing maps of the mental boundaries of cities.
Rae's own words describe this project:
Sometimes official city boundaries extend far beyond the urban fabric, and sometimes they don't include very much of it at all. I want to see what people consider to be part of their city, or not. All the drawn boundaries on this site come from your contributions.
Yes, you can draw your own map, and, yes, you can view previous mapping attempts.
Misra notes two takeaways. First, "[f]or many, the paths they take to move around the city become its de-facto borders. M25, the highway that circles London’s core, for example, is a popular option."
Second, the "map confirms what we’ve known for a while—that how our mind recalls the space around us depends heavily on the landmarks and routes that we know and take."
FULL STORY: Where Are Your City Limits?
The Gig Economy for Mapping
A new startup wants to use blockchain and the Uber model to create free, open-source maps.
CicLAvia Tour Integrates Crowdsourcing
As cyclists toured Watts and other parts of South Los Angeles, they were invited to share photographs and record places of interest along the way.
Top 10 Free Web Applications for Planning
I had the opportuntity, at the 2009 national planning conference in Minneapolis, to present (together with my colleague Christian Peralta Madera) ten free web applications that can be used to support planning. Approximately 350 participants attended the session. Since the presentation, I've received over 100 emails congratulating us on the practical nature of the presentation, and requesting links to the websites we presented. Since our presentation was a hands-on demonstration, this blog entry outlines the ten technologies, and provides links to examples of the technology in practice and resources so you can experiment with the technologies.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Why Should We Subsidize Public Transportation?
Many public transit agencies face financial stress due to rising costs, declining fare revenue, and declining subsidies. Transit advocates must provide a strong business case for increasing public transit funding.
Understanding Road Diets
An explainer from Momentum highlights the advantages of reducing vehicle lanes in favor of more bike, transit, and pedestrian infrastructure.
New California Law Regulates Warehouse Pollution
A new law tightens building and emissions regulations for large distribution warehouses to mitigate air pollution and traffic in surrounding communities.
Phoenix Announces Opening Date for Light Rail Extension
The South Central extension will connect South Phoenix to downtown and other major hubs starting on June 7.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service